Her first two years playing volleyball for the Wildcats, Megan Bean loved to swing away.

At 6-foot-1, she had the height and power to be a great offensive player. But she lacked something of an awareness that kept her from getting to the next level.

That was one thing Richfield coach Brett Beagley noticed this season. In her junior year, Bean wasn't just about hitting hard anymore.

"She could feel the defense, and she learned how to go around or over them," Beagley said. "After two years for us, she started to get more comfortable with the finesse part of the game. I think she could feel when we had to go to her and other teams couldn't stop her."

Bean's improvements were a huge reason why Richfield was able to win a state championship in Class 2A this year. The middle blocker became a force offensively and defensively, and when the Wildcats were pushed, Bean helped them push back.

""We started thinking that we had to win and there was no other alternative," she says. "We didn't do as good in some of our tournaments, but we learned that we needed to come ready to accomplish anything. When we got to state, our attitude was that we were not going home without a trophy."

Richfield had a very successful region schedule, going undefeated in that stretch, but often struggled with consistency during tournaments. One of its more discouraging efforts was at its home tournament at Sevier Valley Center, when the team lost to Rich, Delta and Carbon.

The Wildcats turned the results around before it went to the state tournament. Beagley says his team picked up its play when it found itself playing for high stakes. Bean helped Richfield assert the confidence it needed to knock off defending champ San Juan in four sets.

"What Megan gave them was just this feeling that they couldn't be stopped," Beagley says. "When she got hot, she just wanted a set, and her teammates were happy to give it to her. She relished that." All-State softball MVPs and teams (pdf) » http://bit.ly/rQ44Fz